Review: Trader Joe's - Turkey and Stuffing En Croute

Trader Joe's Turkey and Stuffing En Croute features a turkey tenderloin wrapped in cornbread stuffing and puff pastry dough. It's basically the turkey version of beef wellington. "En croute" basically means "wrapped in a pastry crust and baked."

A 40-oz box that included the Turkey and Stuffing En Croute plus cranberry sauce and turkey gravy cost me $12.99.

The prep work for this is pretty easy as you just have to take it out of the sealed plastic bag and place it on parchment paper (easy cleanup!) and a baking sheet to bake for about an hour. That being said, it has to thaw in the fridge for a day before you bake it.

It pretty much looked like a loaf of bread coming out of the oven. There's a fairly thick, super flaky, crispy, browned crust with moist, soft, and buttery inner layers. It's brushed with an herb oil blend (and egg to give it that sheen) so there's an extra dimension of flavor to it.

The stuffing inside turned out pretty mushy and was almost a thick sauce. While not much on the texture front, it had a rich, savory, herby flavor to it as well as some buttery notes.

The turkey itself was well-seasoned and moist in the center and juicy and most tender at the ends. It looks like the thicker dough at the ends helped the tapered ends of the turkey tenderloin retain more moisture.

The gravy was on the thin side and was surprisingly not all that salty. It was more mushroom-y than meaty and only lightly seasoned compared to everything else. I found it a little unnecessary given the abundance of flavors in the dish itself. The cranberry sauce was much thicker and tasted more berry than cranberry specifically, which might be nice or not depending on how much you like cranberry. There was actually a strong cinnamon spice note to it that worked well.

Overall, Trader Joe's Turkey and Stuffed En Croute turned out marvelously. I would not be mad if someone served me this for Thanksgiving and would happily include it in my own spread. It's fairly easy to make and there's enough to serve three to four people (or possibly just two really hungry people). You can also keep it around (thawed) in case of any Thanksgiving turkey mishaps. This just might be my go-to for when I'm doing a smaller Thanksgiving dinner.

Nutritional Info - Trader Joe's Turkey and Stuffing En Croute
Serving Size - 1/8 package (140g)
Calories - 280 (from Fat - 130)
Fat - 14g (Saturated Fat - 7g)
Sodium - 350mg
Carbs - 26g (Sugar - 6g)
Protein - 12g